Okra's sublime slime is in season now

BY JANE TUNKS, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Published 10:00 pm, Monday, August 17, 2009

Just uttering the word "okra" can raise tensions in certain culinary circles. Defenders immediately raise their voices to extol okra's virtues, especially how the mucilaginous fluid it exudes can thicken gumbos and sauces.

Jeff and Pat McAravy from Short Night Farms in Yolo County grow two varieties of this Southern favorite, the green Cajun Delight and a burgundy-colored heirloom variety. According to cookbook author Barbara Kafka, the purple is actually a supersaturated green that fades into its base color (green, that is) when cooked.

Another name for okra is gumbo, which is also the name of the Southern dish with which it is so closely associated.

But okra is perhaps most famous for its texture, which has made most cooks wary of this legendarily hard-to-cook vegetable.

So much so, in fact, that Bi-Rite Market assistant manager Chris Fry recently posted tips in the produce section on how to cook okra, all of it aimed at avoiding okra's potential sliminess. Fry recommends drying the pods thoroughly after washing and slicing them with an even drier knife - anything to keep moisture away. If you then cook okra over a high, dry heat, such as saute, roasting or even grilling, and give it a splash of acid like lemon or lime juice, it can be downright delicious.

"I personally hated the stuff most of my life, until I roasted it a couple of years ago," says Linda McAravy, whose brothers farm at Short Night. She drizzles olive oil over okra, sprinkles it with sea salt and roasts it at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. She describes the flavor as a cross between asparagus and eggplant.

How to select: Seek out brightly colored, firm green or purple okra without any dark spots. Small, just-picked pods are more desirable because larger, older pods tend to be more fibrous and tough.

How to store: Linda McAravy warns that okra stored at less than 45 degrees can hurt the warm-weather-loving vegetable. To prolong okra's freshness, store it in a paper bag in the warmest part of the refrigerator for no more than three days.

When in season: In Northern California, the growing season is from June through September.

How to use: To avoid okra's potential gumminess, cook it over a high, dry heat or coat it lightly with cornmeal or tempura batter and flash-fry it. Or you could just embrace okra's gelatinous qualities, which will transform slow-cooked dishes like gumbo and sauces.

On menus: At Picán in Oakland, fried okra graces the top of the Southern Caesar salad. At Mingalaba in Burlingame, okra stars in two dishes: pan-fried with prawns, and center stage in a Burmese-style curry with hard-cooked eggs. In San Francisco, Cav serves okra as a side in a simple tomato sauce with garlic and olive oil; Baby Blues BBQ offers a simple side of sauteed okra.